Top Tips to Pass OET Writing

I teach lots of medical professionals to help them improve their English. One thing most have in common is that they are preparing for the Occupational English Test (OET for short). This test is being accepted as an English test instead of the more traditional IELTS in many countries. (I actually plan on writing a blog post on all the reasons it is better than IELTS – watch this space!) This exam tests the usual four elements of a language (reading, listening, speaking and writing) but uses tasks specifically relevant to medical practice. For the writing element, candidates must write a letter, usually referring a patient to another medical speciality.

I am currently taking a course with the people behind OET and I have also helped many students prepare for the test. The following are my top tips I have learned along the way!

1. Use the official website!

If you haven’t looked at this site yet, but you want to take the test, why are you reading this?! Go and look at the official site and come back when you’re done! There is actually a lot of useful information provided for free by the people who write the test. Please read it and understand exactly how the test is structured. Also, be aware that the writing test is changing slightly, with a different emphasis on marking for all tests after the 7th of July.

The main website can be found here.

2. Find the mark schemes

The OET official website has published the mark schemes that they use to score the test. It is vitally important that you know these like the back of your hand (this is a useful English idiom by the way!)

If you understand how they will mark your test, you will understand how to get a good score!

Find the pre-August test mark scheme here and the post-August mark scheme here.

3. Don’t just practise, practise smart

Now you understand how the test is structured and how it’s marked, it is time to practise! The main website and many companies provide case notes to practise turning into referral and discharge letters. You can also use cases you have seen in your own clinical work and practise writing letters.

However, practice on its own is not good enough! You need to make sure you make the most of your practice. (“Make the most of” is also a useful idiom to know). In order to do this, you need to start to practise using the timings of the exam. In the exam you have 40 minutes to write your letter (in addition to 5 minutes reading time). Therefore you should practise completing a letter in 35 minutes, with 5 minutes to read through and correct your spelling and grammar.

Once you have achieved this, mark your own work with the provided mark schemes. Check any grammar you are not sure of and make notes.

4. Don’t go solo

Many of us are used to studying for long periods by ourselves. However, to get a good score in the OET you will need the help of other people. Find out if other people in your hospital are also studying for the test and create a study group. If you don’t know anyone else, use the internet! Lots of people on facebook are also looking for study groups so it is very easy to get help.

Swap your answers with each other, and use the mark schemes to see if there are areas to improve. Don’t just give a numerical score, but have a discussion about why you think the answer deserves each score. Use these discussions to make suggestions as to how everyone could do better.

5. Don’t make these common grammar mistakes

I spend a lot of my time helping students with their OET writing test and I notice some of the same mistakes coming up over and over again. The following is my guide to make sure you get a good score the first time:

Tip #1: Articles

• Every time you write a noun: think if it is countable or uncountable. In medicine this can be tricky, as many nouns are both. For example, “treatment” can mean specific things that are done to the patient which are countable. However, it can also be used in the abstract sense; what is done overall to the patient. In this sense it is uncountable. Consider in what sense you are using the word
• Once you have decided if a noun is countable or uncountable, make sure you have an appropriate article! Uncountable nouns never use the indefinite article “a”. Countable nouns must have an article, or be used in the plural. Here is a good article to revise this.

Tip #2: Years old vs year old

• Mrs X is 33 years old
• Mrs X is a 33 year old patient
• If you are using the patient’s age as an adjective for a noun (patient/smoker etc) then NO “s”. If you are stating the age without a noun then you need the “s”
• This rule applies to months, weeks and days as well as years

Tip #3: adjective vs noun

• Many medical terms describing symptoms can be used as an adjective or as a noun. For example “swelling” vs “swollen”.
• Make sure the verb in your sentence matches the term. For example “Mr X has swelling in his knee” vs “Mr X’s knee is swollen”. Both of these are correct (although the second sounds more natural). However you WILL lose marks if you say “Mr X’s knee is swelling”.

6. Think of the reader!

When you look at your own work, or if you are checking a friend’s work, put yourself in the shoes of the intended reader. This is especially true for exams after 7th July where the mark scheme is updated to include “purpose”.

If your referral letter is to a neurologist for example, imagine you are a neurologist receiving the referral. Are you clear why the patient is being referred to you? Have you got the background information that will be useful to plan the patient’s care?

Asking yourself these questions will help you plan your structure wisely. It will also help you select relevant information from the case notes. This is very important to get good marks!

7. Be consistent

Do you generally use British English or American English. It doesn’t matter which you prefer, but you must pick one and stick to it! Likewise, when writing numbers decide whether you use the numeral “1”, “65” etc or the word “one”, “sixty five”. Again, it doesn’t matter but your letter will not get high marks for grammar if you interchange both.

Also be consistent with your tenses. Especially when discussing current symptoms, it is acceptable to use either the present tense or the past tense. For example:

“Mr Smith returned today and he had not noticed any change to his symptoms. He still had ongoing pain in his knee”

OR

“Today Mr Smith has not noticed any change to his symptoms. He still has ongoing pain in his knee”

Both of these sentences are fine. However, our point of reference in time is either earlier today (first example) or right now (second example). Both are acceptable, but you must be consistent within the same paragraph.

8. Get some professional help, and use it wisely!

You don’t need to spend any money to get a good mark in the OET (other than of course paying for the test itself, and any transport accommodation costs!) However, there are lots of companies available that will provide courses and mark your writing samples. Before you spend your hard-earned money make sure you have made use of free resources first!

If you do decide to pay for a service, research it first and check it provides what you need. I personally offer OET writing correction over Skype; I don’t only give you a mark but I will also explain any corrections and give you personalised tips on how to improve. If you are interested then get in touch!

If you haven’t read it yet, check out my personal guide on how to write an OET referral letter here!